Dunkirk

[duhn-kurk]

noun

French Dun·kerque

[dœn-kerk] /dœ̃ˈkɛrk/. a seaport in N France: site of the evacuation of a British expeditionary force of over 330,000 men under German fire May 29–June 4, 1940.

a period of crisis or emergency when drastic measures must be enforced: The smaller nations were facing a financial Dunkirk.

a city in W New York, on Lake Erie.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dunkirk

Contemporary Examples of dunkirk

He began showing some promise in 2003, taking fifth place at race known as the Four Days of Dunkirk in May of that year.
Speed Read: Eight Shocking Bits From the USADA’s Lance Armstrong Report
Laura Colarusso, Nina Strochlic
October 11, 2012
That was an “Obama initiative” in about the same way that Dunkirk was a Churchill initiative.
The GOP’s One-Sided War on Dems
Michael Tomasky
September 9, 2011

Historical Examples of dunkirk

Then the summer night regained its tranquillity and Dunkirk slept.
Submarine Warfare of To-day
Charles W. Domville-Fife
But Dunkirk in that year of grace, 1917, did not always wear so peaceful a garb.
Submarine Warfare of To-day
Charles W. Domville-Fife
As a result of the attack on Dunkirk one French destroyer was sunk.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII)
Various
Both Calais and Dunkirk were bombarded by German destroyers.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII)
Various
This is no longer the France that remembers an English commissary at Dunkirk.
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume I (of II)
Charles James Lever

Word Origin and History for dunkirk

Dunkirk

city on the northeast coast of France, French dunkerque, literally "dune church," from Middle Dutch dune (see dune) + kerke (see church (n.)); in reference to the 7c. church of St. Eloi.

dunkirk in Culture

Dunkirk

The scene of a remarkable, though ignominious, retreat by the British army in World War II. Dunkirk, a town on the northern coast of France, was the last refuge of the British during the fall of France, and several hundred naval and civilian vessels took the troops back to England in shifts over three days.

Note

The term Dunkirk is sometimes used to signify a desperate retreat.